Releases

05/22/2006 9:52 PM - MILWAUKEE  Darren Haydars league-leading 13th goal of the postseason with 3:06 remaining on Monday broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Milwaukee Admirals a three-games-to-none lead over the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Western Conference Finals.

A tightly played third period was flirting with overtime when Haydar took a drop pass from Simon Gamache, worked his way to the high slot and rang a shot off the right post and into the net behind Jimmy Howard.

The Griffins will try to keep their Calder Cup aspirations alive when they play Game 4 at the Bradley Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EDT.

After managing to get just one of their 78 shots past Pekka Rinne in Games 1 and 2 in Grand Rapids, the Griffins solved him on their first attempt of the game. Off a turnover at the Admirals blue line, Kent McDonell darted down the slot and ripped a wrist shot that Rinne got a piece of on its way into the net just 15 seconds into the contest.

Grand Rapids penalty troubles allowed Milwaukee to tie it at the 4:33 mark. Two ticks after a 30-second, two-man Admirals advantage became a 5-on-4, Gamache popped a shot into a gaping cage from the right side. The Griffins, soon after afforded 51 seconds of their own 5-on-3, were unable to capitalize.

With three minutes left in the period, Howard made a highlight-reel stop on Kevin Klein during a 2-on-1 break to maintain the deadlock. But the Admirals struck for their own early tally in the second frame to take a 2-1 lead, as Shea Weber beat the screened netminder with a power play blast from the right point at the 12-second mark.

McDonell answered with his second of the night to tie matters before the stanza was five minutes old. He stole the puck above the left circle, skated patiently across the slot and slipped a shot under a flailing Rinne at 4:49.

Howard and Rinne each finished with 26 saves, but the difference in the game once again was special teams. Milwaukee converted two of its six power play chances, while Grand Rapids unit went scoreless in five tries.

The Griffins will now attempt to write themselves into the AHL record books by becoming the third team in AHL history to win a series after trailing 0-3.